The Beloved (pbuh) and Compassion

All praise be to God, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God

The Prophet (pbuh) reminded us to renew our Eman by saying “La ilaha ila Allah”, because Eman can fade away and become old. Similarly, our love for Allah’s Messenger can fade away if we do not remind ourselves of his exalted character, what he did for us and how much God loves him. It is for those reasons that our love for him should be great, and we should inshAllah aim to emulate his character to the best of our ability. A man once asked the Prophet (pbuh) about the Hour, saying “When will the Hour be?”.

The Prophet (pbuh) said “What have you prepared for it?”

The man said “Nothing except that I love Allah and His Messenger”

The Prophet said “You will be with those you love“

(Bukhari)

I am honestly saying this more as a reminder for myself than anyone else, and hope that you will all bear with me.

In another incident,the Prophet (pbuh) went out and he took a long time to return. When he arrived, he found his servant Thawban crying. He asked him about the reason for his crying. Thawban said, “I missed you, O Prophet of Allah”. The Prophet asked him if this was the only reason for his crying and Thawban replied, “No Prophet of Allah, that’s not the only reason. You went away for just one day and I missed you, so I remembered Jannah (Paradise), where you will be in the highest level and I will be where I will be. I won’t be with you so I’ll miss you in the Jannah, and that is why I cried.” But the Prophet told him, “Thawban, don’t you know that everyone of us will be assembled with those whom he loves!”.

If only we would weep from missing the Prophet (pbuh)! B’ithnAllah, if we put an effort into following his sunnah, and knowing about his life and character to increase our love for him, we will have the chance of meeting with him on the Day of Judgement.

One of the most striking characteristics of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) is his compassion and empathy for other people. He even praised the people of Yemen because he said they were “tender-hearted” (Muslim). The Prophet (pbuh) said:

“(It happens that) I start prayer intending to prolong it but on hearing the cries of a child I shorten the prayer because I know that the cries of a child will incite its mother’s passions”

-Bukhari

This is in essence loving for others what we love for ourselves, because we are putting ourselves in their shoes and thinking, “what if it was me?”. And this was the Prophet’s way (pbuh) always. This was why, whenever the Prophet (pbuh) would have to advise someone, he would choose the easier path, as long as it was not sinful. He said “Make things easy for the people and do not put hurdles in their way” (Bukhari). With regards to animals, Ibn Abbas related that a man once threw a goat on its side and then started sharpening his knife. When the the Prophet (pbuh) saw him he said: “Do you want to kill it twice? Why didn’t you sharpen the knife before throwing it on the ground?”. He was also angered when some of the Companions took away the chicks of bird, and ordered that they return the chicks to their mother.With children, one of the Companions said of him:I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than Allah’s Messenger (pbuh). His son Ibrahim was in the care of a wet nurse in the hills around Madinah. He would go there, and we would go with him, and he would enter the house, pick up his son and kiss him, and then come back. (Muslim)

This was also why he taught us that Muslims are one brotherhood, and if one part aches then we all feel the pain- the Prophet (pbuh) actually lived the meaning of his saying, as he was always the first to rush to help someone when they were in distress, he felt sadness when people felt sadness and did whatever he could to alleviate it for them. He even felt for us, prayed for us and missed us. How will we meet him on Judgement Day? Hopefully, by just trying to embody one of his many great characteristics, we can be of those who he intercedes for inshAllah.

As for the easy bit inshAllah:

The Prophet (pbuh) said:

“There is no two Muslims who meet and shake each other’s hand unless both their sins are forgiven before they part.”

-Abu Dawud

Next week inshAllah the email will be sent on Thursday morning, with the intention that we will aim to follow that particular aspect of the Prophet’s character (pbuh) in time for when our books are lifted up to Skies and he views them. And as always, if anyone has any suggestions, or criticisms, please email me.

May we always be reminded of our Beloved, and may Allah aid us in emulating the characteristics of the Prophet (pbuh), and allow us to be of who feel compassion for those around us, and to be of those woth tender-hearts. And may we be of the people who are neighbors of the Prophet (pbuh) in Paradise, and who are given the pleasure of seeing God’s Face. Ameen.